


Things You Would Rather Leave on the Desert Island

by celeste9



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Banter, Complicated Relationships, Enemies to Lovers, Established Poe Dameron/Rey, F/M, Multi, Stranded, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 06:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20205403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: When Poe and Rey capture General Hux for the Resistance, they're sure they've already accomplished the difficult part, only to crash land on a deserted planet in the Outer Rim while on their way back to the Resistance. None of them are prepared for the situation they find themselves in, or for the way it may force them to reevaluate how they see each other.Mostly, none of them were ready to be stuck in one small freighter together.





	Things You Would Rather Leave on the Desert Island

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElanneH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElanneH/gifts).

> I started this about a million years ago for @bisexualcarol and possibly no one is more surprised than she is that I finally actually finished it, lol. She also has my thanks for helping me figure out the ending!

Saying they had come in hard was an understatement. The console was still smoking as Poe poked hopelessly at a few buttons. He looked at Rey.

“Druk,” Rey said.

“Frag,” Poe agreed.

“Maybe if we can get the sensors working again we can find something? A settlement? Anything?”

“That’s wishful thinking to an impossible degree. There’s nothing on this whole kriffing planet, Rey, we saw enough to know that.”

“Well, the Resistance knows our general flight path; when we don’t check in they’ll come looking for us.”

“The Resistance doesn’t have the resources to conduct a search of that scale. We can’t count on them.”

“Fine, then, you suggest something!”

“We need to fix our kriffing ship, that’s what we need to do,” Poe said, though he knew that was the least helpful thing he could have said. Obviously they needed to fix it. “And our comm unit.”

An extremely unwelcome voice chimed in from behind their seats. “This is without a doubt the worst prisoner transport I have ever witnessed.”

“Fuck off, Hux,” Poe said without turning.

“I would be more than happy to if only there were somewhere for me to go.”

“Out of the cockpit would be great, for a start. Or do I need to find some rope?”

Rey had said they should tie him to his seat. Poe had thought the binders would be good enough. Clearly he was too kind. Poe tilted his head and looked at Hux standing there. There was a trickle of blood down the side of his face, as though he had knocked his head during the landing.

Hux’s lip curled. “I’m not sure what you’re into, Dameron, but perhaps you could leave me out of it. Isn’t that what your girlfriend’s for?”

“His girlfriend’s ready to punch you in the nose if you don’t stop talking,” Rey said.

“I was prepared for whatever dingy cell you have on your base. I was not prepared for getting stuck in a freighter with you two. Do try and fix this, won’t you?”

Poe and Rey both watched Hux march back out of the cockpit before turning to each other.

“We need to fix this,” they said almost in unison, and got to work assessing the damage.

Poe had survived plenty in his time with the Resistance but even he had his limits. Being stuck in close quarters with General Hux was definitely past them.

To think they had actually believed that capturing Hux was the hard part. Transporting him to the Resistance base was meant to have been simple.

Poe should have known that nothing was ever simple.

-

Fixing the ship was going to be no easy feat, not without access to new parts, or to an astromech. Poe lamented the fact that their undercover mission to capture Hux had left no room for BB-8. Rey, though, was going to be more useful than Poe himself, he figured; all those years of scavenging on Jakku and building and repairing from scratch was going to be no end of use now. They would need all her ingenuity to get out of this, and Poe was prepared to do whatever she told him to. 

“Gently!” Rey directed, smacking Poe’s hand.

He bit his lip, grinning to himself. Okay, so maybe Poe kind of loved doing what Rey told him to. She was sexy when she got bossy.

“Stop thinking that,” Rey said, but her cheeks were pinking and she was trying not to smile.

“Stay out of my head if you don’t like what you see,” Poe said, not even the slightest bit bothered to have been found out. Wasn’t like he had ever made a secret of his preferences.

“You’re thinking it too loudly. You know I don’t do it on purpose.”

“Well, you’re very distracting and this work is annoying.”

“Sure you can fix the ship with all that flirting?” Hux’s nasal voice called from the lounge.

“Fuck off, Hux,” Rey and Poe called back nearly in sync, and they grinned at each other.

-

The good thing was the freighter had private quarters for the crew, with a bed that was big enough for two if you didn’t mind a squeeze, and Poe and Rey didn’t.

Poe definitely, definitely didn’t, not with Rey straddling his hips and her hair in his face.

-

“You’re terribly loud,” Hux said in the morning, almost conversationally. “I wonder that Rey can stand it.”

Poe ignored him. It was always the best course of action when Hux was trying to be a dick. (Which was most of the time, generally. All of the time.)

“Perhaps she’s just that good a lay.”

Poe hauled Hux up by his hair, the way his eyes widened in surprise and discomfort incredibly gratifying. “Don’t think I’m above letting you have an accident, way out here on the Outer Rim. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, General Organa, there’s nothing I could have done.’”

“Found your weak spot, have I? We went about that business on the _Finalizer_ all wrong. Shame we hadn’t had one of your friends; we wouldn’t have been able to shut you up.”

The thunk the back of Hux’s head made when it contacted the wall was weirdly satisfying. “Push me, Hux, I swear. Just keep pushing me.”

Hux was quiet, like he was weighing his options.

Rey walked in, tying her hair up. Her gaze slid from Hux to Poe. “Do you need my help?”

Poe released Hux, whose body slid downwards slightly before he straightened his spine and stood on his own. “Nah, babe, I got it. Hux was just about to sit down and be quiet, weren’t you, Hux?”

“I seem to be the only one on this ship capable of such a feat,” Hux said, like he just couldn’t help himself.

Rey raised her eyebrows at Poe but he shook his head. “You done in the sonic? I’m taking my turn.”

He couldn’t look at Hux’s face for one more second.

-

The planet they had crashed on was hot and dry and their rations began to run out in the first week. Rey had more experience in surviving and scavenging and was a better fighter so she ventured out to try to find them something to eat, to supplement what remained. Hux couldn’t be left alone, obviously, so Poe stayed behind to watch both him and the ship.

Poe knew he didn’t have to worry about Rey while she was gone; she could handle whatever the planet might throw at her. He still kissed her when she went and she only rolled her eyes a little.

“Adorable,” Hux said as Rey’s form disappeared from sight, his tone supremely annoyed.

“It’s okay if you’re jealous, Hugs, I get it,” Poe said, and walked back into the cockpit to fiddle with the comms.

-

When Rey returned, Poe made sure she knew what an amazing feat it was that he hadn’t strangled Hux while she was gone. She congratulated him with heavy sarcasm and presented the small mammal she had killed so they could eat.

“You’re the best, babe,” Poe said, and enjoyed Hux’s horrified reaction as Rey methodically skinned and cleaned it just outside the ship.

“You’re welcome to not eat,” Poe told him as they made a fire. “Whether you starve to death or come back with us to be tried honestly makes no difference to me.”

“Food’ll last longer if you starve yourself,” Rey agreed.

Hux sulked, and then ate what they gave him.

-

Poe had taken to calling the planet they had crashed on ‘Hell’ in his head, and Rey laughed when he said it out loud so he now referred to it that way conversationally. Hell wasn’t quite the desert Jakku was but its sun still burned fiercely and the heat was different from the humidity of Yavin 4. When he breathed he imagined the air drying out his lungs and the nearest water source, a narrow river that wound its way north, took nearly an hour to walk to.

“You see these?” Rey said as they sat together in the sun, early morning before the real heat set in. Hux was still in the hold of the ship and they stayed within eyesight just in case he tried something stupid. He seemed relatively resigned to the situation but Poe didn’t fool himself that Hux was beyond taking what chance he could to get away from them.

She was holding up one of the fruits she had come back with after a foraging trip. Poe took it. “Looks kind of like a small melon.”

Rey used a blade to slice off a small section. “We had fruits similar to these on Jakku. They’re hardy, and they’re good for eating when you’re a bit dehydrated. Try it.”

Poe ate it from her fingers, which made Rey flush a little, though she rolled her eyes. “Surprisingly good,” Poe said after he swallowed.

She gave him another piece and then ate a chunk herself. These morning hours were the most pleasant it ever got, before the sun reached its peak, and it was nice to be out of the stuffiness of the ship.

“No need to share with the prisoner,” Hux’s voice echoed from just outside the ship.

“You’re right,” Rey yelled back. “No need.”

“I hope you know I’m going to report the way you’ve mistreated me to your superiors.”

Rey snorted and Poe said, “Not sure who you think will care.” Leia certainly wouldn’t.

They could hear him still grumbling and complaining but they ignored him. Rey said, “We’re a little low on water. Want to go replenish the canteens?”

“I wouldn’t mind the walk,” Poe said, getting up to his feet. If he left now, he could at least make part of the trek before it got too hot.

“Take Hux.”

“Take Hux?”

“He can carry the big jug.”

Poe looked over to Hux, who was leaning sullenly against the side of the ship, pale skin probably already burning from the sun. “The things I do for you.”

“You’re my hero,” Rey said, brimming with sarcasm, and squeezed his arm. “Now get moving.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Poe headed back towards the ship, catching Hux’s elbow as he passed to drag him along. “You’re with me today.”

“How… horrifying.” Nevertheless, Hux followed him down the corridor as Poe went to collect the canteens, plus the blanket they had torn into strips to wrap over their faces and necks when they went out.

As Poe wrapped first his own head and then Hux’s, Hux said, “This is alarming. I hope you’re not expecting me to work.”

“You want to die of dehydration? If you don’t, you’re gonna help. Carry this.” Poe shoved their largest jug at Hux. The binders would make it awkward to carry once it was full but that wasn’t Poe’s problem, was it? Hux was a general. He could figure it out.

Hux shuffled along after Poe, whining and moaning about forced labor and taking advantage of prisoners, and Poe ignored him. He was getting good at ignoring Hux. Better. Well, kind of. Sometimes.

In spite of the company, Poe genuinely didn’t mind the walk. The ship got a bit claustrophobic sometimes, even if Poe did like Rey a hell of a lot, and it was nice to get away from it. It was nice, too, to feel at least semi useful. Poe would be the first one to admit he was crap at being patient and also at waiting. Essentially everything he had done in the wake of the crash had been unsuccessful but at the very least, he could go out and replenish their water supply.

Hell was, well, pretty much hell, but Poe still appreciated the sunlight above and the clean, if too dry, air. He told himself it could be worse. It could be Hoth. His parents had stories about Hoth. Poe considered himself lucky that he had only ever had to hear stories.

“What are those?”

At Hux’s question, Poe followed his gaze up and saw a group of birds circling overhead, long necks and sharp beaks, their feathers a dull brown. Poe had never seen any bird exactly like them before but it wasn’t hard to guess. “They’re scavengers. Probably waiting for me to drop your dead body in the dirt.”

“Actually I’d imagine they’re hoping for yours. Meatier.”

Poe laughed. “Thanks for noticing.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I think that depends on how it’s taken, and I take it as a compliment.”

“I hope those birds eat your face.”

“They’d get a better meal out of my ass.”

Hux stumbled and Poe grinned. “Hey, well, I guess I know where your mind’s at.”

Hux flushed brightly and he didn’t say another word.

Well, not until they reached the river and Poe made him carry the full canteen, the big one. He complained all the way back to the ship, even when Poe threatened to strangle him and leave him for the birds.

-

“Nothing?” Rey asked from her crouch beneath the console, though her tone told Poe she already knew the answer.

“Nothing,” Poe said, switching everything back off. “Kriff.”

Rey crawled out and stayed on the floor near Poe’s feet. Her hair was wisping around her face, stray strands freed from her buns, and she had a thin scratch above her eyebrow from where she’d accidentally banged into a loose screw under the console. “Blast,” she said.

“Yeah.” Poe sighed. He considered himself a pretty optimistic guy but even he was getting tired. They needed parts they couldn’t come by here and they were both growing increasingly frustrated as all their efforts continued to come to nothing. He patted his knee.

Rey stood and sat in his lap, kneeling over him, her hands behind his neck. “I guess… I guess we’ll just look at it again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Poe agreed, and hoped tomorrow would bring new ideas. In the meantime, he thought they both needed a distraction. “Kiss me?”

She rolled her eyes a little but did, her mouth soft and warm. She threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled, guiding him where she wanted him.

Poe smoothed his hands down Rey’s back as she kissed him, sliding down to her ass. She made a soft, contented sound into his mouth, pressing in closer as she knelt over his hips. Her lips slid over his jaw as she said, “I know you’re watching. If you’d like to keep all of your parts, I’d suggest you stop.”

“Huh?” Poe said, shifting Rey in his lap so he could turn.

Ah. Damn. Of course.

“Kinda pervy, Hux,” he said. “Don’t know why I’m surprised.”

There was a distinct pink tinge to Hux’s pale cheeks as he stood straight inside the doorway, wrists still shackled in front of him. “It’s a small ship. If you don’t want to be seen you should go somewhere with a door you can close.”

“If you don’t want to see something, it’s easy enough to turn right around.” Poe glanced at Rey again, lips curving upwards. “Makes me think you enjoyed the show. Normally you don’t have any qualms about announcing your presence. Afraid we’d stop?”

Rey’s hazel eyes were laughing as she slid off Poe’s lap. “He was definitely enjoying it. I can feel it in his head.”

“Kinky.”

“I won’t dignify that with a response,” Hux said, but his cheeks were reddening even further and he was clearly flustered.

It was a small ship, Poe had to agree. Too small.

He moved out of the pilot’s chair and walked closer to Hux, a deliberate sway in his hips that he was pleased to see Hux noticed. Hux swallowed convulsively when Poe stopped before him, crowding into his space.

“Think about us while you touch yourself,” Poe suggested. “It’s as close as you’ll ever get.”

“I’ve got binders on!”

“Oh, do you? Maybe I can…” Poe grabbed Hux’s dick through his pants; he was already half-hard. Hux’s eyes rolled back in his head and his lips parted but he didn’t make a sound. Poe stroked him roughly and let go, watching as Hux focused back on him. “Or not. You can still think about us, anyway.”

“Fuck you, Dameron.”

“I was hoping Rey would do that, actually,” Poe said, his hand low on Rey’s hip as they walked through the door, listening to her giggle.

“That was rude,” she said, sounding pleased.

“I know,” Poe said and they went off to their quarters.

They were intentionally very, very loud.

-

Rey and Poe agreed that their next course of action needed to be searching Hell for wrecks they might be able to scavenge for parts. They had seen no settlements or signs of sentient life but it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility to assume they might not be the first unfortunate travelers to end up here. Or, at least, not the first ship to crash.

At the very least, it was something to do and something to hope for. Positivity was becoming a bit difficult to hang onto.

They couldn’t both go, as someone needed to watch Hux. They argued; Rey won. She usually did; girl was stubborn as hell.

She was gone two days and she came back empty-handed. Poe glumly told her about how he had thought he’d gotten some static on the comm unit but it was only for a second and he hadn’t been able to reproduce whatever he’d done.

“I’ve got food,” Rey said, a clear consolation, holding up a couple of skinned rodents, and Poe kissed her temple.

-

“That’s it?” Hux said in disgust, wrinkling his nose as he held up his section of charred rodent between two fingers, the three of them sitting on large rocks outside the ship. “Two days and not only do you come back with nothing that helps us, but just this miserable excuse for a meal?”

“Haven’t seen you helping,” Rey said, mouth full as she chewed.

“Binders,” Hux reminded her, shaking his wrists.

“Like you’d help anyway.”

“I am the prisoner.” Hux gingerly took a bite.

“Maybe we should make you earn your keep,” Poe suggested.

“Trust me enough for that?”

“Don’t have to trust you to take you out searching for food. You can be the bait. If you run off you’ll probably just get killed, and like I said. I don’t really care if you live to stand trial.”

“Thought you were supposed to be the good guys. Noble cause, self-righteousness, all that.”

Rey snorted. “And I was under the belief that you thought yours was the noble cause.”

“Oh, I don’t see that nobility has much to do with it, but the aim is certainly for a more… ordered galaxy, yes. I should think you of all people would understand what we’re trying to accomplish. Jakku, wasn’t it? Where was the New Republic when you were scrounging for food? When you were being sold into indentured servitude? They’ve left so many discarded youths in the dirt. We’d like to resolve that.”

“By throwing them into your war machine? Making them stormtroopers? Is that what you mean? Don’t you dare speak to me about fixing anything. You fix things by exploding planets when anyone disagrees with you!”

“Well, that was war, you see. Always bound to be casualties along the way to building something better.”

Rey’s hand struck out so quickly that Hux’s head was snapped back, blood dripping from his nose, almost before Poe could even register that she had stood up.

“Fuck!” Hux exclaimed.

“Don’t pretend that you care about me or anyone else,” Rey hissed. “I know what happens to the beings on the planets you go to; I know what you leave behind.”

Hux brought up his bound hands to wipe beneath his bleeding nose. “While our need for resources is great, yes, but we need that to fight this war. You’ve never seen us rule a galaxy in peace.”

“No,” Poe cut in, holding Rey’s shoulder and squeezing before she could succumb to her more violent urges again. “But my parents lived in the Empire’s galaxy at peace. It was pretty on the surface, not so much underneath.”

“Not so different from the New Republic, then.”

“We don’t enslave races.”

“Neither do we.”

“But you find Hays Minor an acceptable situation because you’re fighting a war?” Poe shook his head. “The New Republic might not have been perfect, but we would never condone that. The Resistance--”

“Is losing,” Hux interrupted. “You will never be able to stand against us because you’re even more ragtag than the Rebellion, and that’s saying something.”

Rey twisted out of Poe’s grip and he let her. She moved right into Hux’s face, glaring down at him where he sat. “Not so ragtag we can’t get you.” She strode away, her pace quick and sure and radiating with anger.

“Don’t move,” Poe said as he went after her. “Rey!” he called, and got her to stop before she walked out of sight of the ship. “Rey,” he said, and she turned to face him, blowing out a breath.

“If I go back there,” she said, her fingers twitching near the lightsaber hilt that hung from her belt, “I might kill him.”

“He’s a dick and it wouldn’t be a huge loss, but that’s not really why you’re angry, is it?”

Rey looked away and then to Poe again. “He’s wrong. But he’s not… not completely wrong.”

Poe reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Rey’s ear, suspecting that he knew what she was getting at. “In the attempt to give planets their own autonomy, things fell through the cracks. People fell through the cracks.” Entire planets fell through the cracks, in all honesty.

Biting her lip, Rey glanced to Hux again. “I don’t believe that the First Order will help Jakku, but the New Republic didn’t help us, either. I’m not the only orphan to be taken advantage of.”

“That’s what we’ll do,” Poe said, taking Rey’s hands, and it was a promise he desperately meant. “When this is over. We can’t change the galaxy by ourselves but we can sure as hell try.”

Rey squeezed Poe’s hands and nodded, her eyes bright with gratitude that Poe knew she wasn’t comfortable expressing in words – and that he wasn’t sure he would be comfortable receiving. “But right now, let’s just try and get Hux back to General Organa before we murder him.”

-

That was easier said than done, particularly when Hux seemed keen on being as annoying as possible. Poe wondered if this was how the stormtroopers had felt on that shuttle flight to the _Finalizer _from Jakku, when Poe had decided that if he had to be captured, he was going to make them all regret having captured him.

Poe kind of regretted capturing Hux.

Well, maybe not. This was still a definite win for the Resistance. But he regretted capturing him and then crashing here.

“Are you sure that goes there?” Hux asked as he did nothing helpful whatsoever, instead watching as Poe worked on the ship.

Poe quickly reversed the wiring because yeah, that actually was an alarming sound. Still, he gave Hux an irritated glance. “You want to try? Your critique isn’t helping.”

“Oh, no. We’ve got droids and techs for that. I don’t touch the ships.” Hux looked vaguely insulted.

“I’m shocked.” Poe wiped his hands onto the back of his pants. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s just Rey and me here, and we definitely don’t have any droids.” If only. His longing for BB-8 intensified for a moment.

“That’s not my fault, is it?”

“How’d you get a position on a Star Destroyer if you really know nothing about ships?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So you could be useful? If you wanted to?”

Hux shrugged. 

“Stars, you’re annoying.” Poe pushed himself up onto one knee and then stood, moving towards Hux. He was always mildly amused by Hux’s tells when he got too close, the way his lips parted, or his breathing quickened, or his eyes widened.

Poe wondered what it was; just the close quarters? Did Poe make him nervous? Maybe he never got laid back in the First Order and was really, really horny. Maybe he was into people capturing him and being kind of mean to him. Hey, Poe didn’t judge.

Right now, Hux swallowed. Poe touched his fingers to Hux’s hip. It was sort of a shame that he was terrible; he wasn’t bad-looking. He was a bit scruffy now, his hair lengthened around his ears and no longer so severely slicked back, and it suited him. Not that it mattered; he was still a son of a Hutt even if Poe had been free and available, which he was very happily not.

Still, it was fun to play around with him. He was so easily riled up.

Poe leaned in. “See something you like?”

“Not really.” Hux’s breath fluttered against Poe’s hair.

“Huh. ‘Cause I can feel your pulse racing from here.” He couldn’t, actually, but saying so did make Hux’s breath come a little faster.

There was a noise and Poe stepped back. He tugged at Hux’s hair. “Rey’s back. We’re probably gonna have really loud sex later; hope you can sleep through it. Or not. Since you like to watch. Listen. Whatever.” He exited the cockpit and ran down the corridor to meet Rey; she had been gone several days and while Poe refused to worry, he was beyond glad to see her.

And, apparently, what she was bringing with her.

She was lugging a makeshift carrier fashioned from branches with what looked like engine and ship parts on it. She grinned when she saw him. “Found this. Wanna help?”

“I fucking love you,” Poe said, and grabbed one end.

-

They stayed awake well into the night sorting through the parts and figuring out what might be useful, what might be salvageable, working by flashlight and the few lights in the ship they could power on. Hux eventually got bored of making a running commentary and retired to his seat in the lounge.

When Rey and Poe finally stumbled into the crew quarters, they were too tired to do more than lie together. “Promised Hux we’d be enthusiastic,” Poe mumbled into Rey’s hair.

She laughed and stroked his hip. “Maybe tomorrow.”

-

Tomorrow started later than planned, as Poe slept late and Rey, somewhat surprisingly, lingered in bed with him. When he sleepily opened his eyes to realize that he felt rested enough that it must be late and that Rey’s front was pressed against his back while she dragged the backs of her fingers over the bare skin of his waist, it occurred to him that she must have missed him while she was away.

“Careful,” he said. “You’ll make me think you like me or something.”

“Only in your dreams,” she said, and pinched his belly.

“Ow.” Poe rolled over, jostling her, and looked into her blinking hazel eyes. “So you didn’t stay in bed because you’re so happy to be in my company again?”

“I was just hoping you’d wake up and want to… you know.” Rey bit her lip, her gaze flickering down and back up.

“You only love me for my body,” Poe said in resignation, sliding down the bed and tugging Rey’s underwear off as he went.

“Yes,” Rey agreed, and went a bit breathless with the press of his mouth between her thighs.

-

Hux was in the lounge poking at a sliver of meat he must have gotten out of their store in the canteen when they eventually made their way out. He looked vaguely disheveled, his hair sticking up in the back and his clothes rumpled.

Rey wrinkled her nose. “Gross. Are you always this much of a pervert or is it just because of us?”

“We must’ve been enthusiastic enough for you,” Poe said. “Hope you enjoyed it.”

“I hate you both so, so much,” Hux ground out from between his teeth.

-

Poe and Rey spent the remainder of the day making repairs to the ship. They were even moderately successful; the parts Rey had found were old but with her ingenuity and knowledge and Poe’s decent skill with ship mechanics, they were on their way to making it work. Poe thought – and Rey agreed – that the radio remained the priority so they were focusing on that first. Even if they couldn’t get the ship flyable again, if they could at least call for help, they might make it off Hell.

They were both cheerful at dinner, feeling accomplished and maybe even hopeful, enough that not even Hux doing his best to be pissy and annoying could bother them much. Sometimes Poe wondered if it wasn’t just Hux’s way of passing the time and assuaging his boredom, like being an asshole was his only outlet into a fun time.

In the morning Rey prepared to go on another foraging trip and Hux shocked them both by volunteering to go with.

“What?” Poe and Rey said, nearly in unison, facing Hux with what had to be close to matching expressions of incredulity.

“You’re the ones who said I should help,” Hux said, a little peevish, like he had expected them to accept his offer with gratitude and cheers and perhaps a medal.

“You haven’t been very eager to take us up on that, though,” Poe pointed out. “We didn’t really expect you would.”

“Don’t get too excited about my motives. I’d just rather not be stuck in this ship all day with you again, Dameron.”

Poe’s gaze slid to Rey and he shrugged. “I can buy that.”

Rey let out a breath. “You better not slow me down. Wasn’t planning on baby sitting.”

“She’ll definitely let you get eaten if you don’t keep up and do what she says.”

Hux looked from Poe and then to Rey as she strapped her staff across her back as though he were judging the level of Poe’s sincerity. He must have ended up at ‘entirely sincere’ or else ‘better not to find out’ because he hurried after her without a word when Rey strode out.

Poe laughed to himself and decided to appreciate the novelty of a few hours without Hux.

-

Hours later, Poe was so engrossed in adapting some of the connectors Rey had salvaged that it took him a minute of hearing the distant background sound of two people shouting at each other for it to register that Rey and Hux must be back. “Must’ve gone well,” he said to himself with a bit of a laugh as he got up to find them.

As he approached them, however, he realized it was more than just some bickering. Hux was bleeding, the shoulder of his uniform (he continued to insist on cleaning and wearing it) torn, and Rey was clearly at the edge of her patience as she attempted to help him while he complained.

“I didn’t think you would actually use him as bait,” Poe said to Rey.

“I should have,” Rey said, glaring at Hux. “He just kept getting in the way.”

“It chased me!” Hux protested. “Believe me, I wanted no part of your little hand to hand with that giant beast.”

“It was hardly giant. And I told you to roll behind that rock, I was handling it.”

“It was on the other side! It would have eaten me!”

“It nearly ate you anyway!”

“Children,” Poe interjected. “I’m not sure this is productive.”

“Productive,” Rey grumbled, yanking out the medkit and thrusting it at Hux. “Clean yourself up, you enormous baby. He whined the whole way back,” she complained to Poe.

Hux’s expression was undeniably offended. “I’m bleeding! Pardon me for being concerned.”

“You’ll live. Unfortunately.” Rey stormed off in the direction of the outside doors. Poe could only assume she had brought part of the carcass of whatever it was that had attacked them back with her.

“She likes you, I can tell,” Poe said, and tried not to laugh at the face Hux made, and then at his dramatic wince and flinch when Poe took the disinfectant from him to dab at the sliced skin of his shoulder. “So a giant beast attacked you?”

“Yes. Quite ferocious. All… all teeth and claws.” Hux demonstrated.

Poe laughed. “Sounds frightening. I’m sure you were braver than Rey’s giving you credit for.”

“I wasn’t trained to face wild animals,” Hux said defensively.

“Of course not.” Poe finished cleaning the wound and wrapped some gauze around it. “There, now you’ll definitely live. You might have a scar; it’ll make you look dashing and rugged.”

“Just what I always wanted.” Hux contorted himself to get a better view of his shoulder as though he distrusted Poe’s handiwork.

“Maybe you can finally give up on the uniform jacket though. I can’t sew and Rey won’t sew for you.” Or, Poe couldn’t sew well, anyway, and he doubted Hux would be as kind about Poe’s unimpressive efforts as Finn had been.

Hux sighed. “If I’m to die back at your base I’d really rather do it as a general.”

“The jacket doesn’t make you a general.”

“Appearance matters, not that I’d expect you to understand that.” Hux gave Poe a very pointed look down his nose.

“Hey, I cultivate my appearance very carefully,” Poe insisted with a grin. “Takes work to look this attractively disheveled.”

“I can confirm that by the amount of time he spends on his hair in the ‘fresher,” Rey said as she came back inside, lugging what could only be the remains of the animal that had attacked them.

Poe knew she would never waste it.

Hux looked revolted. “I can’t eat that.”

“No one’s forcing you.”

Squeezing Hux’s uninjured shoulder, Poe said, “It tried to eat you so honestly, it’s only fair that you eat it.”

“I can’t believe we haven’t defeated you heathens yet,” Hux said, and Poe and Rey just smiled at each other.

-

Poe regretted to think that, after so much time passing, he had almost accepted Hux as just a part of life now. He was still an annoying bastard with terrible politics and a stunning lack of concern for sentient life, but he was… kind of okay, sometimes, maybe. At least Poe found him occasionally amusing, though often at Hux’s own expense. He wouldn’t say that he and Rey had softened towards him, but they didn’t want to strangle him one hundred percent of the time either.

Maybe just seventy five percent.

He had the impression that Hux was somewhat resigned to the fact that their company was probably better than no company, which he suspected was why Hux was letting Rey ramble on about their progress on the ship as they ate overly charred giant beast. Hux’s eyes had glazed over enough that it was clear he didn’t actually care beyond knowing progress had been made, but he let Rey keep talking. It was almost kind of him.

“We’re gonna try and see if we can get a signal tomorrow,” Poe said. “I think we’re close.”

“It will be a relief to find myself in a solitary cell away from you two,” Hux said, though he wasn’t all that convincing.

“You’ll miss us.”

“Hardly.”

“I think you like us.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“You like his ass, anyway,” Rey pointed out. “I saw you looking.”

Hux turned red and Poe laughed. “He likes yours, too, babe. Thinks he’s subtle.”

“Are all rebels this arrogant?”

“You’ve got porn in the First Order, right? I bet you watch ‘the First Order officer and the rebel prisoner’ a lot,” Poe said, as Rey snorted and squeezed his knee. “You want us to enact it live for you? Or is the reverse good enough?”

“You mean the appalling harassment I’ve been subjected to? You think I’ve been getting some perverse enjoyment out of it?”

“Dunno. That’s between you and… well, you, I suppose.”

“You think far too highly of yourselves,” Hux said, though the redness hadn’t faded.

Later, when Rey and Poe lay in their small bunk in the crew quarters, Poe could sense Rey’s restlessness. He nudged her and said, “Something wrong? Can’t sleep?”

Rey blew out a breath. “Thinking too much, I guess.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“No, just… Hux.”

Poe waited, pretty sure that sooner or later, Rey would elaborate.

He was right.

“He did help me, you know. When that animal attacked.”

Poe couldn’t help his surprise. “He did?”

“He was playing bait, on purpose. Distracting it so I could get in a better position. That’s why he got hurt.”

“And he didn’t want to claim credit for that? Can’t believe he hasn’t been lording it over you, especially with that war wound.”

Rey hesitated. “I think he was embarrassed. Because all he could do was play bait, and because when it came down to it, he helped me even though I’m his enemy. He tried to say it was because he still needed me to get off this planet, and I’m sure that’s true, but I think also he just… I don’t know. Maybe he found it more difficult to leave me to a wild animal than he thought it would be, after knowing me.”

“But you gave him such a hard time.”

“Well, he’s still Hux, isn’t he? And anyway, when he didn’t bring it up I assumed he must find it less embarrassing for you to believe he’d been chased on accident, rather than doing it on purpose.”

“Maybe.” Poe wasn’t sure he would ever understand their ginger prisoner. He wasn’t sure he genuinely wanted to.

“He’s going to be executed, isn’t he?” Rey said. “When we hand him over to the Resistance?”

Though he was somewhat startled at the progression of the conversation, Poe went along with it. “Eventually, yes, most likely. He’ll get a trial, but…” The outcome was close to a foregone conclusion. The Hosnian system alone would net him an execution.

“I know he deserves it. Not that long ago I would have happily done it myself, for what he did to Finn alone. But…”

“It’s harder to wish someone dead when you know them.”

“He isn’t a good person. He doesn’t even try to be. Most of the time I still think he’s an asshole, even when I’m not remembering the horrible things he’s done. I should be happy knowing he’ll pay for his crimes.”

The ‘but’ remained unsaid but obvious. “How we feel can be illogical. That’s okay, Rey. It’s okay to feel things that you wish you didn’t.”

“I don’t feel anything,” Rey insisted. “I don’t like him; he’s just… here, all the time. And I…”

“He’s a person now, more than he used to be,” Poe said, because it was how he felt. “An irritating, annoying person who hates the sun and probably has something of a voyeurism kink.”

Rey smacked Poe’s chest.

“He had me tortured on the _Finalizer, _and he ordered the deaths of friends of mine, and he deserves exactly what’s coming to him. But I won’t really be happy about it.”

The hand Rey had used to hit Poe was rubbing circles on his chest now. “Yeah,” she said, and they lay in silence.

-

Late the following evening, they got static on the comms. Poe stared at the steady light on the panel, too dazed to react, as Rey fiddled with it until the signal died. “Blast,” she said, lips pursing, but Poe grabbed her shoulders and kissed her on the mouth, too happy to even care that Hux was leaning against the console and watching them.

“You did it!” he exclaimed when he released her, and Rey smiled reluctantly.

“Almost,” she agreed.

“Took you long enough,” Hux said, and they both ignored him.

“We’ll look at it with fresh eyes in the morning,” Poe said. “We’re so close.”

Rey nodded and they went to prepare something for dinner. Poe couldn’t help but be cheerful, joking and laughing with Rey, and even Hux seemed like nearly pleasant company.

That probably meant they had been here far, far too long, and even small victories had been few and far between.

The stars were clear in the night sky as they sat outside, the temperature having dropped when the sun set. In the distance Poe could hear those alien scavenger birds but they were far enough away to be of minimal concern.

He watched Hux where he sat on a rock across from Poe and Rey and said, “You know you could try to barter with information. Try to strike a bargain, or at least have something to work in your favor at your trial.”

“Help you, you mean?” Hux asked, arching an eyebrow. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“If it gave us an edge, well, yeah, obviously.”

“I mean you’d like to watch me groveling for my life and turning traitor.”

“Sure, if you say so.”

Rey was staring at Poe. “You’d trust anything he said?”

Hux laughed. “I knew she was the brains between you two.”

“Obviously not,” Poe said to Rey. “But you think it’d be the first time we’ve had information from questionable sources? We investigate, see what pans out. We take precautions.”

“And he gets off clean?”

“No. But like I said. Maybe he gets a better deal, if he gives us something good we can use.” Poe held Rey’s gaze, wondering what thoughts were running through her head. Would that be what she wanted? The possibility of an execution muted into a prison sentence, perhaps? For this not a good man who had become a person to them?

Or maybe it was the execution that would bring her peace.

“I’m not a traitor,” Hux said, that smug, prissy tone in his voice. “I won’t be the next FN-2187.”

Maybe it was all moot, anyway.

-

They were too on edge to sleep, but that wasn’t a problem, considering Poe could always find something fun to do with Rey that wasn’t sleeping, something that would give them both a little release. She sighed beneath him, her knees bent around his hips, her fingers threaded into his hair, as he sucked a tiny bruise onto her collar bone. “He’s thinking about us,” she murmured.

Poe kissed up the side of her neck to her jaw. “We’re not even being loud.”

“He can’t tell what we’re doing. He’s just… thinking about it. Imagining.”

“You can sense that? Kinky.”

Rey tugged his hair. “He’s… confused. He hates how much he doesn’t completely hate us. Mostly he hates that he thinks we’re attractive, and he’s the odd one out.”

“Poor Hugs,” Poe sighed in mostly feigned sympathy. He kissed Rey slowly, feeling her cant her hips upward against him, and then said, “We’re almost out of time to mess with him.”

“I can…include him,” Rey suggested, pushing Poe over onto his back and kneeling on top of him. “Project into his head.”

Poe smiled slowly. “Rey, I’m shocked.”

“It wouldn’t be that hard. I’m getting better at this part.”

“Maybe a little bit hard, though. I mean, isn’t that the point?”

Rey groaned, her wandering hand squeezing a little harder than necessary. “Sometimes I can’t remember why I put up with you.”

“Yes, you can,” Poe said, demonstrating with his hips, and Rey’s breath hitched.

She kissed him, eyes closed, and whispered against his lips, “He’s incredibly frustrated.”

“He still has binders on,” Poe remembered, sliding his hands down Rey’s back and gripping her ass. “So sad. Must be difficult to get himself off that way.”

Sitting up straighter, Rey met Poe’s gaze. “If you wanted to… find out how far we can play this game? I think now’s our best opportunity.”

Poe kept watching her, surprised, but also… not. Rey added a tally mark for every day the sun set and they didn’t leave Hell, low down on the wall in their quarters, and there were an awful lot of marks there now.

“It might be fun,” Poe said after a minute, still watching Rey, and she dragged her thumb across the hollow of his throat.

She nodded, and said, “Hux,” aloud, but probably projecting it into Hux’s mind, too, Poe figured. “Come in here.”

He must have ignored her because then Rey said, “I know what you’re doing. I’m just suggesting making it a bit easier.”

Poe snorted and Rey smiled a little, crookedly.

“Get in here,” she said, much more firmly. “I’m not asking.”

Finally Hux stood in the doorway. Even in the dimness of the dark room, Poe could tell that his clothes were rumpled and his cheeks flushed. Rey’s projection must have been very, very good, or else Hux was just incredibly desperate. It was likely some combination of the two.

“What do you want?” Hux asked.

Rey swung her leg over Poe so she was on the bed beside him. “Get on the bed.”

“What? I’m not--”

“Again,” Rey interrupted, “I’m not asking.”

Kriff but Poe loved it when Rey got bossy and demanding. Apparently even when it wasn’t directed at him.

“Because this entire situation hasn’t been embarrassing enough?” Hux said as he sat gingerly on the bed.

“Maybe,” Poe said, pressing Hux’s shoulder down until he lay flat, “we’re doing you a favor. After all the teasing.”

Hux’s bound hands settled over his chest, elbows bent. “Forgive me if I doubt your motives.”

Poe shared a grin with Rey. “Oh, our motives are definitely selfish. It’s just that maybe you’re gonna get something out of it, too.” He leaned in, nosing along Hux’s jaw, feeling the sharp catch of his breath.

“I don’t--”

“Shut the hell up,” Rey said, her hand high on Hux’s thigh, and, finally, for once, he did.

-

Rey and Poe were too eager to try the radio again in the morning to sleep much past sunrise, despite the activity of the previous night. They squeezed past each other in the tiny refresher mostly in silence, Poe thinking back a few hours to how they had left things with Hux.

_“Just to be clear,” Rey had said, throwing Hux’s pants in his general direction, “we’re still turning you in.”_

_“I’m aware my skills in the bedroom aren’t quite mind-blowing enough to have changed that,” Hux had said with a tiny, displeased downturn of his mouth. He had wriggled back into his pants in an awkward, yet practiced way, working around the fact that binders were snapped around his wrists._

_“But don’t say we never did anything for you,” Poe had pointed out, giving Hux one last smack on the ass. “Consider it your last hurrah. That cell’s gonna be awfully lonely.”_

Hux himself was still dozing on the bench in the lounge when they walked by on their way to the cockpit and Poe kicked his foot where it hung off the side. Hux jerked and nearly fell off, blinking in confusion.

“Did we keep you up past your bedtime?” Poe asked faux-sweetly, while Hux just glared at him.

“I’m glad you think you’re funny,” he said.

“You might not think I’m funny, but you certainly like something else about me.”

“Stars,” Rey said, and tugged Poe’s belt. “Come on, idiot, let’s just get to work.”

He complied, and heard Hux follow them.

Poe thought he might cry when they found a signal and when they successfully sent a message over a secure line to the Resistance. He hugged Rey, both of them laughing in delight, while Hux lounged in the back, adopting a bored, indifferent expression.

“I suppose you’d like me to be impressed that you finally mustered the brainpower to rescue us,” he said.

“Didn’t see you doing any better,” Rey said.

“I might not have appreciated being stuck here with you but I certainly wasn’t going to help you bring me in.”

“Oh, you liked being stuck here with us a little,” Poe said, grinning, and appreciated the faint flush in Hux’s cheeks. “At least last night you did.” He dragged his fingertip down the center of Hux’s chest.

Hux rolled his eyes but that flush didn’t dissipate. “Whatever will you occupy yourself with once you no longer have me as a target?”

“Shooting down your pilots is always a fun distraction for me.”

“It really is,” Rey agreed.

She and Poe were both way too excited about getting a response back to even think about doing anything else, so they just hung out in the cockpit, talking and fiddling with the other damaged systems while they waited. Hux couldn’t have hated their company that much because he stayed there with them, interjecting his snide comments now and then.

The Resistance got back to them sooner than Poe could have even hoped; seeing the light flash to indicate the incoming transmission felt like the first day he’d flown, his first kiss, and the day he had graduated from the academy all in one.

The message itself was fairly standard, an acknowledgement of their situation and coordinates and a promise for retrieval, but that was all Poe needed to make this day the best he’d had since they crashed here. Well, obviously, he supposed.

“Might as well eat now,” Poe said, standing, and Rey didn’t need any encouragement. When Hux made as though to sink into the background as they passed, Poe grabbed the back of his pants by the waistband.

“If you think we’re ever leaving you alone where you can access a working radio and message the First Order, you’re dumber than I thought you were.”

“I wouldn’t be much of an officer if I didn’t try, would I?” Hux said, letting them push him out of the cockpit.

Somehow even the charred, vaguely too old remnants of the giant beast they had for lunch tasted better with the promise of being off Hell soon. Poe hoped the other pilots had kept up with BB-8’s oil baths and that the droid wouldn’t be too upset with him for getting into trouble without him.

“Do you think the First Order would rescue you?” Poe asked, suddenly curious, as they all sat just outside the ship, avoiding the ship’s stuffiness but making use of the shade it provided. Poe was sitting in the dirt, leaning against Rey’s legs where she sat on a log they had pulled over. “If you got a message out?”

Hux shrugged. “I expect they’d probably kill me, actually. Ren would find it a fine excuse to be rid of me, I’m sure, and it would ensure I don’t give you any information.”

“That’s the organization you want to run the galaxy?” Rey said, raising her eyebrow.

“I find practicality is generally better than sentimentality, myself.”

“Even when it gets you killed?”

“Well, I wouldn’t plan on being an active participant in my own demise. You assumed I’d contact the First Order. Perhaps my escape plan is a bit different.”

Poe felt Rey’s hand settle into his hair, playing with it like she did sometimes to calm herself when she was frustrated or irritated or angry. It was probably a little bit Hux, but mostly the First Order. “I hate to break it to you but your escape plan is kind of terrible. You’re still here, and you’re leaving with us.”

“Am I?”

“It’s good to be optimistic, I guess, but you’re running out of time and Rey and I aren’t that bad at this sort of thing, so… You might want to consider that ‘helping us to get yourself a better deal’ idea.”

“Absolutely,” Hux said with an offensively condescending smile.

“You know,” Rey said, “you’re not really enticing us to suggest you join us in passing the time until our ride gets here.”

Poe craned his head back to look up at her. “Were we gonna do that?”

“Thinking about it.”

“Huh.” Poe looked at Hux. “You heard her. Don’t be such a dick for five minutes and maybe we’ll have some fun.”

Hux kept his mouth shut while Rey stroked Poe’s hair.

“Better,” she said, her fingers at the nape of Poe’s neck. “Maybe we can start by you just watching, see how it goes.”

Poe could watch the struggle not to make a snide remark play out on Hux’s face. “You do like watching, don’t you, Hux?”

“Do you want the answer to that?” Hux asked.

Poe laughed and stood up, holding his hands out to Rey to bring her up, too. He kissed the side of her face as she slid her hands down his spine. “I already know the answer,” he said, and knew that Hux would follow as they went back inside the ship.

-

The Resistance sent through another message once they were in the same system, and Poe and Rey went to stand in the sunlight, watching the sky. Hux had salvaged that blasted officer’s jacket again and was wearing it in spite of the rip in the sleeve. He insisted he looked more presentable this way than he would in anything they had onboard.

“You know that no one will believe you if you try to tell them what happened here, right?” Poe said.

“What, that you sullied your noble hands on filthy old me?” Hux said with a roll of his eyes. “Believe me, I’m not eager to spread that particular tale.”

“We’re too good for you. Such a vivid imagination you have, to even come up with that story.”

“More shameful for you than it is for me, I expect.”

Rey chuckled. “Haven’t you learned anything about Poe? He doesn’t even know what shame is.”

“No,” Poe said, half distracted. “Do you hear that?” He ran back inside the ship, the sound of Rey’s footsteps pattering as she went after him. He skidded into the cockpit in time to catch the incoming communication.

_“Poe?” _said a voice that was unmistakably Snap Wexley’s. “_Poe, do you read?”_

“I’m here,” Poe said, as Rey crowded in next to him, her shoulder against his. “Buddy, am I glad to hear your dumb voice.”

_“I’ll bet you are, but we got a problem. There’s another ship approaching and if I had to guess, I’d say it’s heavily armed and isn’t friendly.”_

Poe looked to Rey and then both looked back to where Hux was leaning in the doorway.

He lifted one shoulder. “Perhaps it’s my escape plan.”

“Yeah, or maybe it’s your friends come to kill you.”

“_Poe?”_

“Yeah, Snap, I’m here.”

_“They’re nearer to your location. They’re going to reach you first.”_

“Blast,” Poe swore. “Are you able to engage?”

_“I’ve got Jess and Karé with me, in their fighters, but Poe, I’ve gotta tell you, I don’t have a great feeling about this.”_

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us. Can you--”

“Tell him to meet us by the river,” Hux interrupted.

Poe blinked at him and Rey said, “What?”

Huffing a breath, Hux said, “The river! Can your idiotic friends pick us up there or is that too much to ask?”

Hesitating for a moment, considering that he was actually about to put his trust in General Hux of all people, Poe said, “Don’t engage unless it becomes necessary. I have new coordinates for pick-up. Stand by.”

“Are you sure about this?” Rey asked under her breath.

“Not really,” Poe said as he input the coordinates for Snap. “Now what?” he said to Hux.

“They’ll want to make this as clean as possible,” Hux explained. “They’ll fire from above and then come down for clean-up. If you let me transmit my code, they’ll assume I’m signaling for my rescue. Of course I know it isn’t a rescue, but they won’t know that I know that. They’ll fire on the ship, believing me to be inside.”

“But we’ll be running to the river?” Rey said, arms crossed.

“Ideally, yes.”

“And we’re supposed to just let you signal your people? Because of course you would never lie to us for your own gain?”

“That’s a risk you’ll have to take. Or don’t take it. It’s up to you. Either way, I’ll be running.”

“Either way you’ll be running,” Poe muttered. He brushed Rey’s arm. “Honestly, babe, I’m not sure what other choice we have.”

“So you’ll trust him? Just like that?” Rey’s cheeks were flushed in tightly restrained anger and frustration at their situation. 

“I trust he wants to live. And so do I.”

Rey exhaled. “Oh, fine. If it’s a trick, I’ll kill you before the First Order gets anywhere near you.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Hux said, approaching the radio. “Can I have the binders off now? We really will have to run, and this won’t help any of us.”

Tossing out a few choice swear words she certainly had learned from Finn, Rey waved her hand to unlock the binders using her control of the Force. Hux sighed in relief and rubbed his wrists before relaying his signal.

As far as Poe could tell, he hadn’t done anything but what he had said he would. “Come on then,” Poe said. “If we’re going to run, let’s run.”

So they ran.

It was far too hot for their intended exertion and they hadn’t had time to wrap their heads as they would normally do, but that seemed a lesser danger than getting blown up by the First Order. Poe’s ears were filled with the sound of his own ragged breathing and he knew those kriffing alien birds were probably tracking their every movement, just waiting for someone to fall. Rey seemed to be having the easiest time of it, which was hardly surprising, but even she was breathing quickly, her steps not quite as measured as normal.

When the ship went up in the distance behind them, they all heard it.

Hux stumbled, and Poe stopped to herd him back along with them. “Guess that part was true, at least,” he said. “I feel a little better about not being able to get it flyable again, considering we just used it as a decoy to get blown up.”

“How much farther?” Hux asked, panting. “They’ll send in the troops now, and they’ll search for us when they find no evidence of bodies in the wreckage.”

“Too far,” Rey said, speeding up, though Poe knew even she was unlikely to be able to keep up that pace. Hux certainly couldn’t, and he lagged farther and farther behind.

With the hot sun beating down on them, Poe called out, “Rey, we have to stop a moment. Catch our breath, have a sip of water. It’s the wrong time of day for running.”

“You think they’ll care about that?” Rey said, barely turning. “We have to--” Then she stopped, shading her eyes, and Poe realized what had caught her attention.

The Resistance. Two X-wings swooping overhead, and then in the distance, a small transport ship.

“Thank the stars,” Poe said, hands on his thighs as his breath came in gasps. They must have gone looking when Poe and Rey weren’t at the designated coordinate, and Poe couldn’t have been happier about it. He moved over to Hux, who was all but collapsed onto the ground, and caught his elbow. “Your ride’s here.”

“Funny,” he said, still breathing harshly, “I thought it was yours.”

Poe glanced to Rey, then watched Hux. “Well. Looks like you’ve chosen it, too.”

“I chose my life.”

“Right,” Poe said, as the transport set down to land. “But it just so happens that meant our lives, too.”

“An unavoidable side effect.”

“Would it kill you to admit you don’t completely hate us?” Rey demanded.

Hux looked her in the eyes. “Would it kill you to admit the same thing about me?”

Rey was quiet, and Hux shook his head, muttering about pathetically dull rebels.

Poe shoved him in the direction of the transport. “We’ll see who likes whom when you’re all alone in your solitary cell, desperate for company.”

“Yes,” Hux said, eyes narrowed. “We’ll see.”

Poe supposed they would.

** _End_ **


End file.
